Mrs. Nosy: A Composting Story Reviewed By Andrea Coventry Of Bookpleasures.com

Andrea Coventry

Reviewer Andrea Coventry:
Andrea is a Montessori child - turned educator.Â An avid reader
and writer, she is published on several websites.Â Click
Here to find a listing of Andrea's sites where you can find many of her
writing contributions.

Everyone has had that nosy neighbor always interfering in their
business. In Mrs. Nosy: A Composting Story by Lily
A. Goldman, Sooz and her mother get to play a little trick on the
inquisitive observer over the fence.

Mrs. Nosy is amazed at how beautiful Mrs. Laura’s garden is.
When she asks her for the secret, they tell her that a fairy comes at
night to sprinkle gold dust on everything to help it grow. Mrs. Nosy
decides to try to stay up every night, waiting for the fairy to come,
because she wants her garden to be as beautiful. But alas, every
night, she falls asleep, instead.

While she sleeps, Sooz and her mom are creating their own “fairy
dust” by taking out their kitchen scraps to their compost bin. As
the worms and bugs help break down the organic waste, they leave
behind a rich organic fertilizer that makes everything grow more lush
and beautiful than before.

After a few days of teasing Mrs. Nosy, Sooz and Mrs. Laura take
pity on the prying lady next door and decide to share their secret
with her. At first she is skeptical that nasty things such as bugs
and worms can help create such beauty. But after a few days of
applying the “fairy dust,” she begins to see the benefits and
embraces the idea.

Mrs. Nosy is appealing to young children with the idea
of a fairy dusting gardens at night. The brief explanation of how
composting works suffices for a younger audience. Mrs. Goldman also
accompanies her words with colorful and dreamy watercolor
illustrations.

In this day of “Going Green,” parents and educators can use
this book as an introduction to composting. For further study, they
can rely on the resources listed in the back.